Button-sewing machine.



W. L. BARR'ON.

BUTTON SEWING MACHINE.'

APPLIOATION FILED 00T. e, 1911.

Patented Apr. 14, 1914.

3 SHEBTS-SHEBT 1.

*www* v l A Arm/my W. L. BARRON.

BUTTON SEWING MACHINE.

APPLUATION FILED 00T. 5, 1911.

Patented Apr. 14, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W. L. BARRGN. BUTTON SEWING MAGHINB. APPLICATION FILED 00T. 5| 1911.

W 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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WILLIAM L. BARRON, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y., .ASSIGNOR T0 THE SINGrIfiRl MANUFAC TURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

BUTTON-SEWING MACHINE.

i ,caesar Specification of Letters Patent. Patntd App, 1ML 191ML,

Application filed October 5, 1911. Serial No. 652,936.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. BaRRoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York` in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Buttoir Sewing Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention has for its primary object to provide a machine for automatically attaching flat buttons to garments by means of spaced and unconnected groups of stitches, and also to provide such a machine with means for attachment interchangeably of twoor four-hole buttons with the same number of stitches passing through each pair of holes.

In its preferred form, the machine is co-nstructed with stitch-forming mechanism comprising a rectilinearly reciprocating needle operating in conjunction with a buttonholder to which is imparted lateral jogging movements for production of a. succession of fastening overseam-stitehes passing through the eyes of one pair of a four-hole button and periodical lateral movements at the completion of each group of fastening stitches to position the button for reception of a second group of fastening stitches passing through the eyes of the second pair of holes in the button. The machine is provided with a stop-motion device and tripping means therefor arranged to operate the stopmotion device to arrest the stitch-forming mechanism at the completion of each group of fastening stitches so as to permit the cutting of the needle-thread, manually or otherwise, to prevent the laying of a connecting thread upon the face of the but-ton between the groups of fastening stitches passing through its two pairs of eyes. The machine is preferably provided with thread-cutting mechanism actuated by the stop-motion device whereby the upper thread is automatiA lally cut beneath the work, and the jogging of the button-holder is arrested during the production of the last few stitches of each group to produce tying stitches for preventing the unraveling of the fastening stitches. The button-holder jogging means is so constructed and arranged that the button is normally shifted across central or neutral position relatively to the needle path, hut it is provided with adjusting means for interrupting its side-shift movements and simultaneously positioning the button-holder in intermediate or central position so as to hold a two-hole button suit-ably to receive a single group of fastening stitches of the same number as those applied to each pair of holes of a fourehole button.

In the accompanying drawings the present improvement is shown embodied in a fiat button sewing machine constructed suhstantially in accordance with the United States patent to Charles M. Horton No. 807,676, dated December 19, 1905.

Figure 1 is a rear side elevation of a machine embodying the present improvements, F ig. 2 a front side perspective view of the salne with the frame represented partly in dotted lines, with certain parts removed and others represented partially in section, and F 3 is a bottom plan view o-f the same. Fig. 4 is a plan of the rearward portion of the machine with the controlling cam in section, and Fig. 5 an elevation of the forward face of the cont-rolling cam. Figs. 6 and 7 represent pieces of material having attached thereto by means of the present improve ment a two-hole and a four-hole button, and Fig. S a similar View representing a fourhole button attached by mechanism of the patent above mentioned without the present improvement.

The frame of the machine is composed of the usual bed-plate l, hollow standard 2 and tubular ovcrhanging arm 3 in which is jour naled the main-shaft l having upon its rear- 'ard end the fast and loose pulleys 5 and 6, the former having' secured thereto the stopping cam 7. The main-shaft 4 has secured upon its forward end the take-up cam cylinder 8 carrying the crank-pin 9 connected by means of the pitman 10 with the rectilinearly reciprocating needle-bar 11 carrying the eye-pointed needle 12`which in'practice coacts with a shuttle mounted in the shuttle race 13 depending from the under side of the bed-plate.

Sustained upon the bedplate 1 is the laterally jogging slide-har 14 carrying upon its rearward end 'the block 15 Yand having secured to its forward end the work-supporting plate 16 constituting the lower member of the work-clamp. J ournaled in the block 15 for slight vertical movement isthe upper work-clamp arm 17 having an enlargement 18 at its forward end constituting the but-- ton-holdersustaining plate, and pressed normally downward by means of the arched pressure spring 19 secured upon said block by means of the clamp-bolt 20.

Pivotally mounted beneath the plate 18 byV means of the fulcrun-studs 21 are the swinging spring-pressed button-holding levers 22 each provided at the downwardly offset forward end with the button-clamp jaw 23 both grooved in their adjacent edges to receive the edges of the button b introducedL between said jaws with its inner edge in engagementwith the intermediate stop-finger 24, the horizontal portions of the upper face of the button being pressed in contact' with the overhangin lips of the jaws by means of the spring olding-plate 25 secured to the under side of the arm 17 by the screw 26.

As represented in dotted lines in Fig. 1,

the main-shaft 4 is provided with a .wormj 27 meshing with the worm-wheel 28 secured upon the transverse shaft 29 upon which is fixed the controller .cam-wheel 30. This cam-wheel is formed in its rearward face with the clamp-jogging cam-groove 31 and thread-cutter cam-groove 32 and in its forward face with the clamp side-shift groove 33, while its cylindrical periphery is formed with the thread-clamp notches or cavities 34. The jogging cam-groove 31 is entered by a roller-stud 35 carried by the upper arm of a rock-lever 36 mounted upon the fixed fulcrurn-screw 37 and having its lower arm connected by means of the extensible pitman 38 with the rearwardly extended slotted arm 39 of a bellcrank mounted beneath the bed-plate upon a fulcrum-stud 40 and having a forwardly extending arm 41 connect ed by means of the bent link 42 withy the pin 43 mounted in the slide-plate 44 and` connected with the forward portion of the' slide-bar 14. The cam-groove 31 is com posed of four similar sections each comprising a succession of outwardly extending indentations 31a alternating with inwardly projected parts 31b the final one of which latter has continuous therewith a concentric portion 31. As represented in the drawings, in each section of the cam-groove-the stud 35 traverses first the jogging portions 31a and 31b to produce through the operative connections Asix lateral jogs of the workclamp for production of a plurality of fastening stitches after which its traverse of the eoV duction 4of the tying stitches.

concentric camgroove portion 31c causes an interruption of the jogging movements to permit the descent of the needle three times through the same hole of the button for pro- The laterally jogging slide-bar 14 has at its rear end the rigid pin or post 45 entering the hollow or slotted lower arm 46 of a rock-l shaft 47 mounted in the rigid bracket 48 and provided with the upwardly extending arm 49 carrying a pin or roller-stud 50 entering the side-shift cam-groove 33 of t-he cam-wheel 30. Vertically adjustable on the pin or post 45 between the flanges of the hollow arm 46 is the contact block 51 adjust-ably secured in position by the set-screw 52. The parts yare so constructed and arranged that when the contact block 51 is shifted into upper position against the stop-screw 53 and in alinement with the rock-shaft 47, the slide-bar 14 is drawn into intermediate p0- sition in which the center of a button held by the button-holding jaws is in the plane of the lateral jogging movements relatively to the needle, so that ajtwo-hole button is suitably positioned to receive a vsingle group of fastening stitches corresponding with one of the sections of thecontrolling cam, or a quarter-rotation of the same, while the adjustment of the spacing block 51 in a lower position, as represented in Fig. 2, causes the button to be shifted laterally across such intermediate or neutral position at the completion of each series of tying stitches succeeding a group of fastening stitches. To this end, the cam-groove 33 is formed with four a1- ternatin outer and inner concentric por-- tions wii intermediate inclined portions 33:l and 33b one of which is disposed substantially opposite the end of each concentric portion 31 of the jogging cam-groove, so as to act in producing a side-shift 0f the workclamp immediately succeeding the rise of the needle after its descent for the final tying st-itch.

The standard 2 has'secured to its rearward end a bracket 54 formed in its lower-end with a socket in which is journaled the plug 55 having a forked outer end in which is pivoted by means of the transverse pin 5G the lower end portion of the vibratory stoplever 57 carrying the spring-pressed plunger-rod 58 whose wedge-shaped upper end 58x is adapted for engagement with the stopping cam 7 into operative relation with which it is normally pressed by means of the flat spring 59 having its foot '60 secured upon the bed-plate and its laterally offset upper end 59x restin upon the face of the lever 57. The lever 5 is confined yieldingly against one of the spaced flanges 54x of the bracket 54 by means of the transverse-plunger-rod 61 mounted in the socketed bearing boss 62 in which is confined the buffersprin 63. The stop-lever '57 carries the usual elt-shipper 64. Y

.The outer or rearward face of the stoplever 57 is formed vith a groove which is entered by the hooted, outer` end 65 of a latch-lever mounted upin the fulcrum-screw 66 and having a forwardly extending arm means of the spring 68 in the path of cirj cular movement of the lug 69 of each of four tripping plates 70 lsecured by means of fastening screws 71 upon the recessed inner face of the cam-wheel 30. As shown in'Figs. 2 and 5, the points of the tripping lugs ($9 are disposed substantially opposite the alternating operative shoulders 33a and 33 of the side-shift cam-grooves, and they are in practice so arranged that the latch-lever G5 67 is tripped to release the stop-lever 57 as the needle completes its descent for the final tying stitch succeeding each. group of fastening stitches. For tilting the stopping lever 57 to dise-ngage its plunger 58 from the stopping cam 7 a starting lever is mounted upon the transverse fulcrum-pin 72 between the flanges 54* of the bracket 5-1, such lever comprising the depending arm 7 3 normally resting against the rearward edge of the lever 57 and the rearwardly extending arm 74 adapted to be drawn downwardly by a treadlel connection or other means in shifting the stop-lever into forward inoperative position. v

The present machine is preferably provid-ed with a thread-cutting mechanism comprising the upper-thread and lower-thread cutting blades 7 5 and 76 rigidly connected with the sector gear 77 journaled in t-he bracket 78 which is attached to the shuttle race cover-plate 79. Meshing with the sector-gear 77 is the rack 80 carried by a slidebar 81 suitably supported beneath the bedplate and having near its rear end a block 82 having a notch 83 entered by the reduced lower end of the lever 84 which is pivotally mounted by means of the stud-screw 85 on the bracket 86 (represented in dotted lines in Fig. 1) and provided at its upper end with a pin or roller-stud 87 enterin the cam-groove 32 of the cam-wheel 30. T 1e block 82 carries at its rear end a pin or roller-stud 88 engaged by the forked arm 89 of a bellcranklever mounted on the fulcrum-stud 90 and having a rearwardly extending arm 91 provided with an endwise yielding pin 92 normally pressed outwardly bjLmeans of the spring 93. -The stop-lever 57 hasl an extension 57x below its fulcruni-point formed with an aperture 94 which is adapted to be entered by the yielding pin 92 when the stoplever is in stopping position wherein its plunger-rod 58 is in operative relation with the stopping cani 7. The thread-cutter camgroove is so formed that, in the drawing up of the needle-thread loop for the stitch next the last tying stitch, the sector-gear 77 receives the first stage of its operative movement which advances the point of the lowerthread cutting blade 7G beyond the needlehole of the shuttle-race cover-plate so as to draw aside the shuttle-thread and insure the propervlead of the same without interference with the subsequently acting hooked needle-thread retaining blade 95. About as the needle completes its final descent, one of the tripping points 69 engages the latch-lever G5 G7 to trip the stop-motion, after which the momentum of the moving parts causes a continued partial rotation of the mainsha-ft during whichthe sector-gear 77 receives the second stage of its actuation to enter the point of the cutter-blade 75 within the final needle-thread loop, the later throw of the stop-lever 57 in opposition to the buffer-spring 63 producing through the bellcrank-lever. 89 91 a final jog of the slide bar 81 to produce the final thread-cutting action of the cutter-blades 75 76, all as morev fully described in the United States Patent No, 807.676, before mentioned and the patent to George S. Gatchell No. 798,130, dated Aug. 29, 1905. After the stop-motion is aetuated to produce the succeeding group ot' button-fastening and tying stitchesl the sector-gear 77 receives a slight retrograde movement after the first descent of the needle to retract 'the hooked retaining blade 95 into clamping engagement with the needlethread to hold the end of the same in the production of a few fastening stitches, after which the cutter-blades and retaining blade are wholly retracted into inoperative position preparatory to a succeeding operative thread cuttin movement.

It will be observed that, b v employment of the present improvement, the machine is adapted to produce two spaced and unconnected groups of button-fastening or tacking stitches a and s each terminating 1n a plurality of tyingstitchcs substantially as represented in the United States patent to John J. Sullivan No. 777,564-, dated Deceniber 13. 1904, with the severed ends ofthe threads retained wholly beneath the faloric/1 and with the upper face ot the button entirely free from projecting thread ends, as

represented in Fig. 7; or,'when the side-shift mechanism is suitably adjusted, to produce the groups of stitches s successively in the same central position for stitching two-hole buttons, as represented in Fig'. 6. rlhe production of the machine is therefore quite different from that of prior machines for fastening four-hole buttons, as represented in Fig. 8. wherein the tying stitches, when added to the' fastening stitches, occur only after the second group s `of the latter which are connected by a cross-thread .s2 which marred the appearance of the button es pecially whenot' that'type provided with parallel counter-sunk grooves intermediate the thread-holes of each pair to receive the stitches.

As in the operation of the mechanisms before referred to, the needle-thread loops are passed through the work in the initial and final thrusts of the needle for each group of stitches and are acted upon by the threadcutting and retaining elements without the locking of such loops by the shuttle-thread, and the controller-cam is so designed and actuated as to produce the requisite number of fastening stitches, the first two of the three final descents of the needle serving to produce the requisite tying stitches to form a knot in the upper and lower threads to securely hold the previously formed stitches against raveling.

It is obvious that the present machine is adapted to produce spaced groups of fastening or tacking stitches connected by an intermediate thread in case alternate tripping points are omitted from thecontrollercam or the automatic actua-tion of the thread-cutter taking place after the production of each group of stitches should be omitted after each alternate group of stitches, so as to produce a button fastening havinof the appearance of that represented in Iig. 8, but with tying stitches at the ends of each of the separated A'groups of fastening stitches.

While the present improvement is shown embodied in a button sewing machine of the jogging-clamp type and with automatic upper and lower-thread cutting devices disposed beneath the work-support, it is evidently adapted to button sewing machines of other types and is susceptible of material modification of the construction and arrangement of its parts within the scope of the present invention.

Having thus set forth the naturev of the invention, what I claim herein is l. In a button sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanism including a reciprocating needle, a buttonholder, and means for producing between the needle and the button-holder in each stitching cycle series or successions of relative lateral jogging movements and intermediate said series or successions of jogging movements relative side-shift movements transverse thereto, of means for cutting the needle-thread beneath tne work at thea/compiet-ion of each series of jogging movements preceding a side-shift movement.

2. In a button sewing machine, the combination with st-itch-fonmlngmechanism includ- -in'g a reciprocating needle, a button-holder,

' device may be actuated to cut the needlecluding a reciprocating needle, a worklafter each actuation of the stop-motion device.

4. In a button sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanism including a reciprocating needle, a buttonholder, means for producing relative lateral jogging movements between the needle and the button-holder, and means for producing relative side-shifting movements between the needle and the button-holder, 'whereby button-fastening stitches may be produced in spaced and connected groups, of means lor arresting the action of the stitch-forming mechanism intermediate 'said groups of fastening stitches, and mea-ns for adjust-ing the side-shifting means torender the same either effective or ineii'ective.

5. In a button sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanism including a reciprocating needle, a buttonholder, means for producing relative lateral j ogging movements between the needle and the button-holder to form a plurality of fastening stitches and for then interrupt-ing the said jogging movements while the needle continues to reciprocate for production of a series of tying stitches` and means for producing relative side-shifting movementsbetween the needle and the button-holder after completion of each series of tying stitches, of means for arresting the action of the stitch-forming mechanism at the completion of each series of tying stitches, and means for adjusting the side-shifting means to render the same either effect-ive or ineffective.

6. In la button sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanism. a button-holder, means for producing relative lateral jogging movements between the stitch-forming mechanism and the buttonholder, and means acting automatically at the completion of each group or succession of stitches of predetermined number for producing relative shifting movements between the stitch-forming mechanism and the work,

` of a stop-motion device for arrestingV the action of the stitch-forming mechanism, automatically acting means for tripping said mesnil stop-motion devce at the completion of eachY name to this specification, in the presence of group or successicin of stitches, a lahreadtwosubscllibing Witnesses. euttin device, an means operative y connectedgvvith the stop-motion device for actu- WIL-Lm L BARRON 5 ating said thread-cutting device to cut the Witnesses:

needle-thread. D. P. BIRNIE, In testimony whereof, I have signed my H. JV. Mmm. 

